Port St. Joe’s Jason Shoaf won an easy victory last Tuesday in the Republican primary special election, and will now face Democrat Ryan Terrell June 18 in a general election to determine who will represent Florida House District 7.

The state representative’s seat opened in January after Halsey Beshears was picked by Gov. Ron DeSantis to head the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Shoaf, vice-president of St. Joe Natural Gas Co., picked up 4,708 votes district wide, or close to 49 percent, easily outdistancing his nearest challenger, Mike Watkins, of Panacea, the CEO of Big Bend Community Based Care, who gathered 2,622 votes, or 27.3 percent.

Shoaf carried eight of the 10 counties which are either entirely or partially within the sprawling district, including Gulf and Wakulla, where he racked up huge margins. Bell was the favorite in Liberty and Leon counties.